Why did Paul have to suffer from the very beginning of his ministry?
Paul had to suffer from the start because God had further revelations to give him beyond the basic truth that Jesus is the Christ. This suffering, beginning with his escape from Damascus in a basket, was part of preparing him to carry the Gospel of Grace.
Les explains that after Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, was blinded, restored, and proclaimed Jesus as the Christ in the synagogue, that message was no longer sufficient. God had further revelations to give the man, so He could not leave Paul with only that message. Consequently, word came that people, Jews who understood he had turned coat on them, were ready to put him to death. Paul had to flee for his life, being let down over the wall in a basket. Les says this began Paul's whole life of suffering and fear right from the very beginning, and it was all part and parcel of getting the man ready to take the Gospel of Grace.